SOCIAL MEDIA

Crowdfunding campaign for woman allegedly involved in viral TikTok garners over $250K

Olivia Estright — Fri, 02 May 2025 13:59:21 GMT

ROCHESTER — The woman who allegedly directed a racial slur toward a child in a viral TikTok video out of Rochester has raised more than $250,000 for herself and her two children, according to a campaign on GiveSendGo.

A crowdfunding campaign titled "Help Me Protect My Family" was created by the user "Shiloh Hendrix" on Thursday afternoon, May 1. Hendrix claims her Social Security number, home address, phone number and place she works out have all been leaked to the public. The fundraising goal was set for $250,000.

"I am asking for your help to assist in protecting my family. I fear that we must relocate," the campaign said. "I have two small children who do not deserve this. We have been threatened to the extreme by people online. Anything will help! We cannot, and will not live in fear!"

The video depicted a man confronting the woman at Soldiers Field Park in Rochester for calling a Black child a racial slur. Though the original video was taken down, Michael McWhorter, known online as TizzyEnt, reposted the video on Wednesday, April 30, to his more than 9.5 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, X and YouTube.

In her campaign, Hendrix claims the child stole from her 18-month-old son’s diaper bag at the Soldiers Field Park playground.

“I called the kid out for what he was,” Hendrix wrote.

As of Thursday night, the fundraiser has received more than 4,000 donations.

The video has since received millions of views, with McWhorter’s repost receiving 8.2 million views. Local leaders in Rochester have also responded to the video.

The Rochester Branch of the NAACP called on the Rochester Police Department and the Olmsted County Attorney’s Office to investigate the incident and file necessary charges. Rochester Mayor Kim Norton urged Rochester residents to do all they can to “end racism in this community.” DFL state lawmakers representing Rochester issued a joint statement condemning the “vile acts of racism” and said they were grateful that the person taking the video stepped in.

On the crowdfunding page, Hendrix alleges the individual who stepped in to film the video proceeded to follow her to her car and claims he has a criminal history. The Post Bulletin has not yet been able to identify the person who filmed the video. The TikTok account of the original poster has since been made private.

According to Minnesota Court Records Online, Hendrix was convicted of a misdemeanor DWI in 2014 and a petty misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct in 2012.

The Rochester Police Department is aware of the video and has received multiple calls related to it, RPD’s Amanda Grayson previously told the Post Bulletin. The police department is “actively looking into the matter.”

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College tuition, social media and state savings: This week in the Minnesota Legislature

Mary Murphy — Fri, 21 Mar 2025 21:01:54 GMT

ST. PAUL — Legislators in the Minnesota Senate and House this week passed several bills out of their chambers. Lawmakers also pitched some new legislation aimed at adding warnings on social media platforms, supporting children of disabled vets, and cutting state spending by reducing funding for transportation projects and undocumented immigrants.

College tuition aid for children of disabled veterans

On Tuesday, March 18, the House Higher Education Finance Committee advanced a bill to fund higher education compensation for children of veterans with disabilities.

The bill, HF982, authored by Rep. Mary Frances Clardy, DFL-Inver Grove Heights, would give free college tuition to, and cover costs of fees and textbooks for children of veterans who are 100% disabled. Allocations would be based on the final cost after subtracting state and federal grants, scholarships and financial aid.

"Investing in the education of children of disabled veterans is not just a benefit; it's a recognition of the sacrifices made,” Clardy said in a press release. ”I’m grateful for my constituents bringing the idea forward. It's an acknowledgment that these military families have already paid a heavy price and that we, as a collective society, have a responsibility to ensure their future is not limited by those sacrifices."

Alan Garske, a twenty-year U.S. Navy veteran who has with four children and lives on a fixed income, said in the press release that this bill would help all veterans.

“I am a 100% disabled veteran because I was in the Navy for 20 years defending our country to its fullest,” Garske said. “I am married with four children, and they will be college age coming up soon. This is an investment not only to help me but for all veterans who are at 100% disability.”

Cutting funding for immigrants, transportation

On Monday, Senate Republicans presented a package of eight bills focused on reducing funding for transportation projects, prohibiting state services to undocumented immigrants and preventing possible future waste.

Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said at Monday’s press conference that Gov. Tim Walz’s budget proposal from January has proposed “painful” cuts to disability care and special education, but that his caucus will be taking a different approach.

Johnson said after the press conference that the bills provide a “small sample” of what Senate Republicans may aim to cut in a budget proposal, which is due in early April.

One of the bills to cut transportation costs is SF250, which would prohibit spending on the Northern Lights Express (NLX) Project. The NLX project is projected to be 80% federally funded and the Minnesota Legislature allocated $195 million to the project in 2023, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

The other two proposed transportation-funding cuts are in SF286, which would prohibit spending on the Reconnect Rondo, and SF39, which would enact a temporary moratorium for spending on light rail projects, with the exception of the Green Line metro system through Minneapolis and St. Paul.

“We’ve identified hundreds of millions of dollars being poured into projects and programs that don’t serve the best interests of Minnesotans,” Johnson said. “By ending the train boondoggles, freeing up existing health care funds, prioritizing Minnesotans, and implementing good government measures, we can cut spending, without shifting the costs onto counties or schools, who will in turn, shift that burden onto property taxpayers.”

One of the bills, SF690, would prohibit any state spending for undocumented immigrants, specifically under MinnesotaCare and the North Star Promise scholarship program.

Senate Republicans are also proposing a set of four bills to prevent wasteful spending: SF240 would restrict grants to non-profits with highly compensated officers, SF242 would require a report on vacant state office spaces, SF1230 would discontinue certain commissions and work groups after two years, and SF1990 would require legislators to disclose any financial ties to entities seeking state funding.

Social media protections

On Wednesday, Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, and Sen. Alice Mann, DFL-Edina, announced legislation to require social media apps to show mental health warning labels and timers tracking how long a user spent on a platform.

The bills, HF1289/SF1807, would amend the existing “Prohibiting Social Media Manipulation Act” to require that platforms show users a mental health warning label every time the user opens the platform. The bill also requires social media platforms to display a pop-up notification every 30-60 minutes alerting the user to how much time has been consecutively spent on the platform.

“The evidence is clear that unchecked social media is linked with poor mental health outcomes, especially among children,” Stephenson said in a press release. “As policymakers, we have a responsibility to address this growing crisis.”

Bills passed out of chambers

The first and only bill to be signed by Gov. Tim Walz so far this session is SF1552, which amends financial reporting requirements for grain buyers. Walz signed the bill on Monday, March 17.

House

HF289: Establishing the State Agency Value Initiative (SAVI) program for state agencies to encourage innovation and cost savings. The bill was passed 133-0 in the House and now goes to the Senate.

HF286: Expanding the scope for background checks for adult entertainment or massage license applications to include national data. The bill was passed 132-0 in the House and now goes to the Senate.

HF72: Prohibiting entities or organizations that receive state funding from making campaign expenditures or otherwise expending money for any political purpose. The bill was passed 130-3 in the House and now goes to the Senate.

HF23: Increasing whistleblower protections. The bill was passed 133-0 in the House and now goes to the Senate.

HF1346: Modifying training requirement for mandatory reporters, requiring more training on noticing signs of abuse and maltreatment. The bill was passed 134-0 in the House and now goes to the Senate.

HF688: Modifying service dog provision in housing accommodation for individuals training service dogs under accredited programs to be granted reasonable accommodations. The bill was passed 114-15 in the House and now goes to the Senate.

HF129: Requiring the director of child sex trafficking prevention to submit a program evaluation each odd-numbered year to the Legislature. The bill was passed 132-0 in the House and now goes to the Senate.

SF202: Modifying Minnesota’s Partition Act, updating the law on eminent domain and the transfer on death deed (TODD). The bill passed 119-12 in the House. It previously passed out of the Senate on a 62-0 vote.

Senate

SF334: Modifying professional development training requirement for the implementation of the Read Act. The bill was passed 62-0 in the Senate and now goes to the House.

SF1360: Increasing speed limit for implements of husbandry (vehicles used for agriculture) to 35 miles per hour. The bill was passed 65-0 in the Senate and now goes to the House.

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TikTok restores US service based on Trump's promised executive order

David Shepardson / Reuters — Sun, 19 Jan 2025 21:21:24 GMT

WASHINGTON - TikTok began restoring its services on Sunday after President-elect Donald Trump said he would revive the app's access in the U.S. when he returns to power on Monday.

"Frankly, we have no choice. We have to save it," Trump said at a rally on Sunday ahead of his inauguration, adding that the U.S. will seek a joint venture to restore the short-video sharing app used by 170 million Americans.

In a message to users hours before the rally, TikTok said: "As a result of president Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S."

TikTok also issued an earlier statement after U.S. users reported being able to access the Chinese-owned service's website while the far more widely used TikTok app itself began coming back online for some users with just a few basic services. As of Sunday evening, the app remained unavailable for download on U.S. app stores.

"In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service," TikTok said in the earlier statement that also thanked Trump for "providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties (for) providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive."

TikTok’s public thanks to Trump, the day before he takes office, comes at a tense moment in U.S.-China relations. Trump has said he intends to place tariffs on China but has also indicated he hopes to have more direct contact with China’s leader.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington on Friday accused the U.S. of using unfair state power to suppress TikTok. "China will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests," a spokesperson said.

TikTok stopped working for U.S. users late on Saturday before a law shutting it down on national security grounds took effect on Sunday. U.S. officials had warned that under Chinese parent company ByteDance, there was a risk of Americans' data being misused.

Trump said he would "extend the period of time before the law's prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security."

"I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture," he wrote on Truth Social.

Trump said the executive order would specify there would be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before his order.

Trump had earlier said he would most likely give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from the ban after he takes office, a promise TikTok cited in a notice posted to users on the app.

"A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can't use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned," a message notified users of TikTok, which disappeared from Apple AAPL.O and Google app stores late on Saturday.

Trump saving TikTok represents a reversal in stance from his first term in office. In 2020, he aimed to ban the app over concerns the company was sharing Americans' personal info with the Chinese government. More recently, Trump has said he has "a warm spot in my heart for TikTok," crediting the app with helping him win over young voters in the 2024 election.

In August 2020, Trump signed an executive order giving ByteDance 90 days to sell TikTok but then blessed a deal structured as a partnership rather than a divestment that would have included both Oracle ORCL.N and Walmart WMT.N taking stakes in the new company.

Not everyone in Trump's Republican Party agreed with efforts to get around the law and "Save TikTok."

Republican senators Tom Cotton and Pete Ricketts said in a joint statement: "Now that the law has taken effect, there is no legal basis for any kind of 'extension' of its effective date. For TikTok to come back online in the future, ByteDance must agree to a sale that satisfies the law's qualified-divestiture requirements by severing all ties between TikTok and Communist China."

The U.S. has never banned a major social media platform. The law passed overwhelmingly by Congress gives the incoming Trump administration sweeping authority to ban or seek the sale of other Chinese-owned apps.

Other apps owned by ByteDance, including video editing app CapCut and lifestyle social app Lemon8, were also offline and unavailable in U.S. app stores as of late Saturday.

Apple and Google GOOGL.O did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

'Hair on fire' moment

Web searches for "VPN" spiked in the minutes after U.S. users lost access to TikTok, according to Google Trends.

Users on Instagram fretted about whether they would still receive merchandise they had bought on TikTok Shop, the video platform's e-commerce arm.

Marketing firms reliant on TikTok have rushed to prepare contingency plans in what one executive described as a "hair on fire" moment after months of conventional wisdom saying that a solution would materialize to keep the app running.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew plans to attend the U.S. presidential inauguration and attend a rally with Trump on Sunday, a source told Reuters.

Suitors including former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt have expressed interest in the fast-growing business that analysts estimate could be worth as much as $50 billion. Media reports say Beijing has also held talks about selling TikTok's U.S. operations to billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk, though the company has denied that.

U.S. search engine startup Perplexity AI submitted a bid on Saturday to ByteDance for Perplexity to merge with TikTok U.S., a source familiar with the company's plans told Reuters. Perplexity would merge with TikTok U.S. and create a new entity by combining the merged company with other partners, the person added.

Privately held ByteDance is about 60% owned by institutional investors such as BlackRock and General Atlantic, while its founders and employees own 20% each. It has more than 7,000 employees in the U.S.

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Visit Bemidji taps into the power of social media to sustain thriving tourism market

TJ Rhodes — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:30:00 GMT

BEMIDJI — Social media has the power to bring people together and Visit Bemidji, the community’s tourism bureau, tapped into this potential and shared their results during a recent Bemidji City Council meeting.

Visit Bemidji consistently promotes the town and its many community events on its Facebook, Instagram and TikTok pages to a large, dedicated following.

Its Facebook page garnered 1.3 million views on posts in 2024; its Instagram account, considered a top priority, has grown considerably with more than 5,000 followers and its TikTok page, established in July of 2024, exploded in popularity with 1.2 million total views and at least five viral posts of 50,000 views or more.

Social media, alongside the normal modes of marketing, has helped draw in a large crowd of tourists to Bemidji.

Here is how Visit Bemidji’s small team of four, consisting of Josh Peterson, executive director; Brady Laudon, assistant director and social media manager; Sydni Miles, sales coordinator and office administrator; and Dean Beattie, visitor experience representative, have accomplished this feat of growing and sustaining Bemidji’s tourism industry in 2024.

Garnering success

Tourism at the beginning of 2024 struggled thanks to little snowfall during the winter months.

“We kind of flat-lined this year,” Peterson said during the Dec. 16 council meeting. “Three months of not having snow kind of shows us the impact of how important snow is to our local tourism. We had a strong summer and fall, so we bounced back.”

This rebound can be partially credited to a strong selection of summer and fall events held in Bemidji, like Unicon 21, Bemidji’s largest event of 2024. The two-week gathering brought more than 1,200 unicyclists from across the globe to Bemidji for the International Unicycling Federation World Championship and Convention, which hadn’t been held in the U.S. for 22 years.

Visit Bemidji was able to showcase its creativity when it launched a TikTok page with a video following Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox as they rode unicycles past Bemidji landmarks before stopping at Bemidji Brewing, all to promote Unicon 21.

The video collected a few thousand views, kickstarting the TikTok page.

“We couldn't do this report without talking about Unicon, it was a huge success,” Peterson said. “The Sanford Center did a survey of the competitors and there’s some great data that we look forward to diving into to figure out strengths, weaknesses and where we can go from here.”

“It was two weeks of craziness but everyone I talked to (was) just in love with the Bemidji experience,” he added. “Over 28 countries were represented during Unicon.”

At-Large Councilor Audrey Thayer expressed gratitude for Unicon 21 as it highlighted the area's culture in more ways than one.

“The people wanted the tribes in front and that was amazing to see,” she said. “It's the first time I've ever seen that in the city where they actually look for the tribes to be there and then put them in front. (They) actively made that effort (and) that said a lot about our city, for diversity for all people.”

Visit Bemidji hopes to keep writing success stories like Unicon 21 by continuing to creatively market the Bemidji area while using the tools at their disposal.

And with 2024 ending with a white Christmas, Visit Bemidji remains optimistic for what's to come in 2025.

In-house efforts

While Visit Bemidji strives to market itself on social media, its efforts go beyond Instagram and TikTok.

It also creates advertisements that don't just promote Bemidji, but embody it by working with the local arts scene to feature locations and people that keep its effort authentic.

These ads are widely publicized, seen in places like Paramount Plus, IHeart Radio stations in the Minneapolis area and, most recently, the NBC Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The Visit Bemidji team continually evolves as well, as seen with the use of TikTok in 2024 and an increased use of a drone for scenic photography and videography from the sky.

They do it all from the comfort of Bemidji.

“All (of) the marketing is being done in-house, organically, with the equipment that we have,” Laudon said. “Without the staff that we have here, we wouldn't be able to make it happen. We're lucky to be in Bemidji. We're very thankful.”

Peterson also noted the ways that Visit Bemidji's efforts compare to those of other tourism bureaus in the state.

“On that note … we're outperforming major players like Duluth and Explore Minnesota,” he added. “We're excited with what we're able to accomplish.”

Visit Bemidji’s increased output and results are thanks to a willingness to think, and explore, outside of the box. This includes their relatively new and yearly trip to the Minnesota State Fair.

During their report, they stated that the fair is an expensive endeavor that is well worth the effort as they’ve noticed a correlation between visiting the fair and increased fall tourism numbers.

The state fair sees an average of 1.9 million visitors every year and Visit Bemidji is the sole tourism bureau to set up a booth.

Members of the city council have joined in on the fun, with some remarking that the fair is one of their favorite times of the year since the inclusion of the Visit Bemidji booth.

All of these efforts combine to help place Bemidji on the map and ensure it stays relevant at the national level.

Community appreciation

After the presentation concluded, the council expressed appreciation for Visit Bemidji’s efforts.

“I come from an ad agency background. I know how they make their money,” Ward 3 Councilor Ron Johnson said. “They buy the ads and they get like a 10% markup, and then they get the money for (a) creative (team) to do them. That's how we used to run … and that's all done in-house now. It's done really quality.“

Ward 4 Councilor Emelie River expressed similar sentiments.

“Our community really appreciates all of what is done to bring people in,“ she said.

Bemidji Mayor Jorge Prince noted that the tourism bureau is known throughout the state for its quality work.

“I thank you guys for the bang for our buck that you give the city and our community,” he said. “I'm in a lot of different spaces with a lot of different elected officials. I hear positive comments about our tourist bureau and we're kind of the envy of many other cities. When we do that with such a small staff, that's a credit and testimony to everybody that's involved. Thank you for that.”

Prince also made sure to thank Visit Bemidji for providing reliable and consistent financial support for the city.

“Your budget is $550,000, so 22% roughly of all the dollars that are coming in are being allocated directly to city-associated things,” Prince said. “That's a very high percentage. I'm not going to forget that. I'm also going to be grateful for that.”

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Harris, Walz energize young voters on TikTok, while Trump leads in followers

Trisha Taurinskas — Sat, 17 Aug 2024 22:20:00 GMT

Newly minted enthusiasm among young voters across the country could be the deciding factor in the 2024 presidential election.

With a third of eligible voters between 18 and 29 reporting TikTok as a major source of news, according to Pew Research, political content created on the platform is proving to be a significant driving force in the upcoming presidential election.

Young voters have historically been a sought-after demographic for presidential political campaigns. Just fifty-five percent of voters between the ages of 18 and 29 showed up to the polls in 2020, according to Statista Research Department, leaving a large swath of votes on the table.

Yet some experts estimate this could be the year for young voters to break that trend, if viral social media content is any indication.

“In 2020, young voters turned out at historic levels to propel Democrats to victory, and this year will be no different,” NextGen America President Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez said in a recent press release.

Since Vice President Kamala Harris became the presumptive nominee on the Democratic presidential ticket, a makeshift army of young voters has taken over TikTok, creating unofficial campaign content for both candidates in the 2024 presidential race.

Online warriors for Harris went to work almost immediately after Biden stepped down, creating viral content capitalizing on Harris’ now-famous “coconut tree” speech, the “brat” title given to her by popular pop star, Charli XCX — and the term, "femininomenon," a play on female phenomenon.

“At no other point in the last two months, even with the other unprecedented political events, did we see such a drastic and sustained overnight shift in share of voice and sentiment,” Ben Darr, founder of CredIQ, a company that uses social media analytics to advise political strategy, said in a statement to Forum News Service.

The Democrats continued to ride that wave as Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was named her running mate — and dubbed by young TikTok users as America's endearing dad.

Despite the surge in democratic enthusiasm, former President Donald Trump still enjoys the largest — 10 million compared to Harris’ 4.4 million.

Yet when it comes to engagement and politically-motivated organic content being created by TikTok users, the Democrats are in the lead.

Democrats are also attracting TikTok users who have historically stayed away from politically-motivated content, highlighting a new group of young voters who are, for the first time, showing political enthusiasm.

“A significant percentage of this shift is the result of a young, politically unengaged cohort of TikTok creators suddenly feeling excited to engage with the presidential election,” Darr said. “It is tough to find comparable, concentrated enthusiasm among young conservative TikTok users.”

If the Harris and Walz campaign is able to create a path from online enthusiasm to the polls, the political power of the younger demographic could surprise the nation — in the swing states and beyond.

The rise of a new voting group?

The activity among young people on the country's most popular social media platform is critical for both campaigns as new voters come onto the scene.

Among the nation’s 41 million young voters eligible to vote in the upcoming presidential election, roughly 8 million will age into the voting pool — and TikTok is their social media platform of choice.

In the midst of the online excitement, voter registration among those 35 and under skyrocketed. After Biden endorsed Harris, Vote.org reported a roughly 700 percent increase in voter registration among young voters.

Historically, young voters have favored Democratic candidates. Roughly 66 percent of voters ranging in age from 18 to 24 have traditionally aligned with Democratic candidates, with 34 percent identifying with Republicans, according to a Pew Research poll.

In 2020, young voters favored Biden in the nation’s critical swing states: Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Michigan.

A SocialSphere survey

conducted after Harris was named the presumptive nominee — and before Gov. Walz was added to the ticket — had Harris with a nine percent advantage over Trump among young voters.

Aside from grassroots content created by young voters, polls also indicate Harris and Walz could be speaking the language of the majority of young voters on issues like reproductive freedom.

Walz's record of protecting reproductive freedom in Minnesota — paired with Harris' campaign cry to protect reproductive freedom across the country — doesn't just speak to the base of young voters. It also speaks to independents.

Sixty-eight percent of young independents recently polled by Navigator indicated they sided with the Democrats on the issue of abortion.

Republican excitement

When it comes to the world of TikTok, Trump supporters are holding their own — and Trump has gained more followers than his opponent in the month and a half since launching his account.

In the first 24 hours after his campaign launched its official TikTok account on July 1, with a UFC video featuring the former president, he gained more than 2 million followers. More than a month later, his account is sitting at roughly 10 million followers.

Harris’ team created her TikTok account on July 25, four days after she was considered the presumptive nominee — and in the height of “coconut tree” and “brat” era.

Roughly three weeks later, Harris sits at 4.4 million followers. The KamalaHQ account, the official campaign account previously dubbed the BidenHQ, sits at 3.6 million followers.

The upcoming Democratic National Convention in Chicago is scheduled to livestream on TikTok, giving the party an opportunity to capitalize on the momentum gained from Harris earning the Democratic nomination and Walz being named to the ticket.

After that, both parties will have the next few months to gain the support and enthusiasm of young voters who could tip the scale of victory at the ballot box.

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Finding Faith: Social media is another idol to worship

Devlyn Brooks — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 14:30:00 GMT

This week, the U.S. surgeon general announced he would seek congressional approval to require warning labels be placed on social media platforms “stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents.”

Sound crazy? Maybe.

But those of us of certain ages may remember the fights to get warning labels placed on tobacco and alcohol products, and those messages now are commonplace.

I’m all for it because, frankly, our phones are just another in a long line of things that we have idolized, and the effects to society — and especially our youth — are staggering.

Surely, you have your own example that you can recall, but the other night when I was walking our dogs, there was a young man about a half block in front of me also walking a dog. But every half block or so, he’d stop so that he could pull his phone out of his pocket and scroll his latest posts. He couldn’t make it 100 feet without having to see his phone!

Surveys tell us that teens spend more than 4.8 hours per day on social media platforms, and what has that wrought? Research shows that since the ubiquitous rise in smartphones in the early 2000s, kids who spend more than three hours a day on their phones suffer significantly higher mental health issues and struggle with negative feelings about their bodies.

Yes, the research is inconclusive that all of this damage is directly attributed to social media use, but even if it’s only anecdotal at this point, we can all point to how our phones are depersonalizing our relationships and becoming substitutes for connections with other living beings.

I’m not naive; I know the placement of a warning label on social media would likely be more lampooned, than it would be helpful. But the same arguments were made about placing warnings on other dangerous products, and over time the increased awareness of danger did alter behavior. Just look at the sharp decrease in the number of U.S. smokers, for example.

I’m not a doctor, of course, and so I can’t speak to this issue from a medical standpoint. I’ll leave that to the surgeon general.

But I do believe that there is a spiritual component to this debate, and I am fairly comfortable in saying that social media platforms ironically have done little to further our relationships.

In spiritual terms, when something comes between us and God, we label that an idol. And so, given that we see God most clearly in others, when social media disrupts those relationships, I’d call increasing social media use more than just a troubling mental health problem.

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An open letter to this year's graduates: We need you

Paula Quam — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 21:21:40 GMT

Dear 2024 graduates,

I know you're probably busy starting your "epic" summer before running off into adulthood, but I was hoping you'd help correct a ship that has seemed to have escaped the hands of us adults and has now run a little off course. It's a pretty big chore, but we probably never gave you enough of those anyway, so here it is.

Now, before I start, I'd like to preface this with...we're still wiser than you. You're smart, but we've still got a lot we can teach you. Like that insurance commercial says, "We know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two."

Okay. Having said that, there's this thing....we need you. And yes, like usual, it has to do with technology.

You see, many of us who are old enough to have kids around your age are grounded in reality. It's something we happen to like about ourselves, but the problem is, too much of a good thing can also cause issues.

Most of us were raised without the internet. We didn't have social media, and our "outside" information came once a day to our doorsteps or twice a day to our TV sets. The edgiest thing we could easily watch was MTV. Actually, it was great because our brains were only being fed real information — not perfect or 100% error-free information, but we never had to doubt their basic legitimacy. Like real butter and real sugar, it may not have been good, but at least it was real and we knew what we were dealing with. But this also meant our natural evolution did not include developing a keen ability to detect and repel digital bunk.

That brings us to the problem today. If you've created a Facebook account (either for Marketplace or to keep tabs on what we're posting about you), you know most of us are on there doing our thing. We've come a long way since the simpler days of our childhoods and have adapted well to the ever-changing landscapes of life, but information overload is proving to be a challenge. There is so much coming at us from every direction. From deeply biased cable news channels to Facebook memes to YouTube...and now we have to think about bots? We did not grow up with this mental chaos. So, naturally, not everybody is always able to decipher what is fact from fiction.

Media literacy, the ability to analyze and determine the accuracy and credibility of media, is not an overarching strength of our generation. So when you combine a deluge of information — both true/solid and fake/twisted — it all gets so jumbled that we will sometimes throw our hands up and just pick the news that we

want

to believe. I mean, there are so many "news" sources now that say conflicting things, and sometimes it feels like everybody is lying. So, in the absence of clarity, of course we're going to pick the one telling us that what we already kind of believe is right. This is a crazy world that we hardly recognize sometimes, so if we can at least feel like we're right about something, we're taking it. It's called "confirmation bias", and it has us deeming news we don't like as "fake" and news we do as "trust-worthy". (We're tired and overwhelmed, and this is just an easy way to do it.)

The problem is, this is also pitting us against each other. As bad actors intentionally pollute our media and turn us against our fellow Americans, our country becomes weaker and more vulnerable to people in this world who actually do want to harm us. "Hey, look!" they say to us, while pointing at our neighbors, and then "bam!"...they sucker punch us while we're busy squinting our eyes at other Americans whose only crime is that they voted for "the other guy". It's happening on small scales, and if we don't smarten up, it very well could happen on a much grander one — one we might not be equipped to deal with.

Now, to you. We need you.

I know some of you are already getting sucked into that same situation. Algorithms ensure you keep seeing like-minded things, and you guys are also having to navigate all this media without much help from us. And now...AI.

I can't even imagine what us older fogies are going to do when AI-generated content is a more regular part of our worlds, but I'm sure you all understand how incredibly dangerous that has the potential to be. If we're not great at spotting bad photo-shopped images or simply doing some Google searches to verify facts now, I cannot fathom us having to identify AI-generated images and videos that are well done. One convincing, well-timed post could have us all slapping on our old Metallica T-shirts, ready for war.

So, it's up to you. I know I mentioned this, but we need you.

I mean, we've got some tech-savvy, brilliant people in our age group who will hopefully help in keeping tech development somewhat responsible, but there will only be so much we can do. This massive responsibility is going to fall largely to you.

I know this letter is taking a serious turn, but you're all grown up now, and life does get serious. You know this — you're watching terrible wars break out overseas. But here's the thing. Most wars start with a spark from bad people, but they usually only ever take hold when the fuel known as propaganda is added and enough good people believe it. People are misinformed, confused, scared, and that makes them ready to fight. It's what they're trying to do to us. Mass communication is the most powerful weapon on earth. Whoever wins the information war, wins. Period. So please, be smarter than "they" think you can be. Like generations before you, you now have a responsibility to stay informed with the truth. Question everything.

When you watch or read something, take notice of the source. Not the platform — the source. TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat — those are only platforms, and there's a mix of good and bad information on all of them. I'm talking about WHO created that video you're watching or WHO wrote that article you're reading. Who are they? Find out. Don't trust random sites and people just because you like what they say. Any yahoo can make a video. Make them earn your trust. Find some credible, centrist news sources — both local and national — and "like" or "follow" them now so that you know you've at least got some legit stuff coming through your feeds. And my gosh, don't rely so heavily on ChatGPT. Sure, it's handy for some things, but AI is only as good as the information it's being fed, and it's being fed by virtually everything on the internet...stuff fallible humans published.

In every second it took you to read this far, there were millions of new pieces of content posted online, and all of the people behind those posts want your attention. You have to be better than us at knowing what is good and what is poison. Because not all poison kills right away, some just slowly build up in your system until you can no longer stand. And you are our newest adults now. We need you standing. We need you to have more clarity than we seem to have at the moment. We need you.

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Parents say daughter was fired from Moorhead ice cream shop after customer left $100 tip

Ingrid Harbo — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 23:02:09 GMT

MOORHEAD — A local soft serve ice cream shop is under fire on social media for allegedly firing an employee after a customer left a large tip.

In a Facebook post, Seth and Lisa Swenson claimed their daughter was fired from The Freez in Moorhead on Thursday, April 25, after a customer left a $100 tip for her. In a Monday afternoon Facebook post, the business said there is more to the story.

According to the post by the Swensons, their daughter was offered the $100 tip by a customer but told the customer she could not accept it.

“The customer put $100 in the tip jar and drove away,” the Swensons said. “At the end of her shift, our daughter’s employer was upset and accused our daughter of ‘taking’ $100 from a customer.”

The Freez prohibits accepting bills over $20 as a form of payment, the post said, but does not include anything in their company policy about tips.

Included in the post was a photo of a written employee warning notice from The Freez, which the Swensons said their daughter received on April 24.

“Emily needs to understand that some of our customers are elderly and could be dealing with dementia or other illnesses that make it hard for them to understand their actions,” the warning notice said. “No one in their right frame of mind tips $100 at a place where every menu item is under $12.”

Employees have a responsibility to protect the reputation of the business, the warning said.

“If the customer is dealing with issues and the family finds out that she was allowed to put $100 in the tip jar, The Freez will be looked down upon as a place that takes advantage of the elderly,” the notice said. “Looking out for customers should take priority over the opportunity to get a tip.”

In their post, the Swensons said their daughter was fired from the business a day after receiving the written notice. It's not clear if anything happened between the notice being issued and the employee being fired.

“Our daughter appreciates the generosity of the lady who tipped her and feels that this kind lady is in no way responsible for what happened,” the Swensons said in their Facebook post. They said their daughter recently started working her fifth season at The Freez.

Lorraine Moore, owner of The Freez, declined an interview, but a statement was posted to the Moorhead Freez Facebook page on Monday afternoon.

“We did not terminate the adult at will employee of 5 years for accepting a tip. There's more to the story,” the post said. “We won't go into details, it's a personal matter. However, we believe that if parents are posting for an adult child- they haven't asked the right questions of their adult daughter.”

Moore was announced as the new owner of the ice cream shop in February.

Seth and Lisa Swenson did not respond to a Facebook message asking for comment.

Since the Swensons shared their post on April 28, it has gained more than 1,000 reactions and has been shared hundreds of times.

Facebook users have flooded the reviews section of Moorhead Freez's Facebook page with negative reviews. While many posting reviews appear to live in the Fargo-Moorhead area, others live in other states, according to their profiles.

Comments range from disappointed to accusatory.

“There are much better ice cream shops in the area. AVOID,” wrote one Facebook user.

“In a world where it's hard to keep people showing up to work, Moorhead Freez decides to demonstrate why,” another user wrote. “I hope the affected employee finds work that appreciates her in the future.”

The Freez addressed the online backlash in its post.

“Ice cream makes people happy,” the post said. “Social media bullying- not so much.”

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Meta's Facebook, Instagram down for hundreds of thousands of users across globe

Reuters — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 16:16:10 GMT

Meta Platforms-owned Facebook and Instagram were down for hundreds of thousands of users across the globe on Tuesday, according to outage tracking website Downdetector.com.

The disruptions started around 9 a.m. CT, with more than 300,000 reports of outages for Facebook and about 40,000 reports for Instagram, according to the website.

"We're aware people are having trouble accessing our services. We are working on this now," Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a post on X social media.

The outage comes on Super Tuesday, a day in which 15 states — including Minnesota — are holding their primary elections or caucuses. More than one-third of all the available delegates for both parties are at stake on Super Tuesday.

Meta's status dashboard showed the application programming interface for WhatsApp Business was also facing issues. There were around 200 reports of outages for WhatsApp on Downdetector, which tracks outages by collating status reports from several sources, including users.

The outage was among the top trending topics on X, formerly Twitter, with several users saying they had suddenly been logged out of the Meta-owned social media platforms.

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Iron Range 'Razz Queen' pleads guilty to illegal gambling

Tom Olsen — Wed, 07 Feb 2024 16:22:24 GMT

HIBBING, Minn. — A woman who called herself the "Razz Queen" has pleaded guilty to running an illegal lottery that reportedly brought in more than $117,000 in less than 10 months.

Kathryn Jean Deblack, 39, of Hibbing, was placed on one year of unsupervised probation and ordered to pay a $3,000 fine — the statutory maximum — after pleading guilty to a gross misdemeanor gambling charge last week in State District Court.

Deblack, according to court documents, defied warnings from state agents to cease the raffles she conducted through Facebook, instead moving to disguise the scheme that eventually included roughly 200 paying participants. She allegedly claimed to be donating proceeds to local charities, but investigators said a financial review and interviews turned up minimal evidence to back that claim.

The Minnesota Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division first began investigating in April 2021, when it was reported Deblack was operating a page called "Iron Range Razzles."

The agency said she was advertising that people could purchase numbered spots for a chance to win "brand new items ... for a fraction of the price," with winners selected by a random number generator. She directed participants to pay through Venmo and use an emoji, to avoid having her account locked for gambling violations.

AGED closed the investigation as an "educational matter" after contacting Deblack, who said she was donating profits to a local organization that sends care packages to deployed military members. She was informed that only registered nonprofits can conduct raffles in Minnesota.

But court documents say the agency received another referral in November 2021 as it was discovered Deblack offered 100 raffle entries at $120 apiece for a chance to win her personal ATV or a $500 cash prize. She allegedly told an investigator she gave $1,000 to a veterans' charity but admitted she used the remainder to pay off the ATV loan.

The complaint says Deblack apologized for again running afoul of the law — but, within four hours, went on to set up a new, private and hidden Facebook page called "IRR" to continue the illegal raffles.

A tipster indicated she was using the "Razz Queen" name to buy products and raffle them for her own profit — for instance, selling 20 entries at $20 apiece for a $100 item, resulting in a $300 profit. She would take payments through PayPal, Venmo and other digital services and then select winners with a spinning wheel on her phone.

Search warrants obtained for Facebook and the payment services reportedly uncovered some 200 individual participants who had sent payments totaling $117,723.57 between April 2021 and February 2022. They used emojis, prize names, raffle numbers and random words in the description, as Deblack indicated she was "attempting to avoid detection."

An investigator also followed up with Operation 120, the organization that Deblack claimed to be helping. An official said the defendant had made a donation once and suggested she would look into the legal requirements to hold raffles but never again reached out.

Under a plea agreement, the St. Louis County Attorney's Office dismissed 11 additional charges. Judge Rachel Sullivan stayed a 364-day jail sentence on the condition that Deblack remain law abiding and have no same or similar offenses for the next year.

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